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Is your money house in shambles, a fixer-upper in progress, or a well appointed property that makes passers-by drool?

What is your money house anyway? Instead of studs, shingles, nails and windows, picture your business finances as a house, made up of many components:

How do you keep track of your money in your business - a pile of receipts to deal with at tax time, or a system like QuickBooks?

How do you spend or invest money in your business - do you have a budget and spend on things which will move your business forward, or spend willy-nilly?

How do you collect cash from your clients - do you follow up for late payments, or let it slide?

How much do you charge your clients - do you charge what you're worth, or bill hourly (hint - I think you should charge what you're worth!) . Check out my upcoming teleclass!

These can be some hard questions to answer, and the reasons for our actions can go much deeper than we think. Stay tuned for next week's article which will address this in greater detail.

OK, back to the money house. The thing is, when you have a clean money house, you also get more time. You're laser focused on profitable results. Time you previously wasted can now be spent on growing your business in new and exciting ways, or having more time with family.

In other words, a clean money house means more money and more time.It's win-win for everybody.

Let's walk through the money house, from the foundation to the finishing touches, to see how a clean money house helps you get more time and money.

The foundation: Without a strong foundation, your house will need serious work over time, which will be expensive and time consuming, not to mention potentially dangerous. Have you ever walked over a saggy floor? Not the safest feeling, is it. For your biz, the foundation is the basics around your numbers. You need to know what a profit & loss statement is, how to read it, and how to work it to move your business forward.

Basic infrastructure: You can't inhabit a home with out framing, electrical, plumbing, and more. In your money house, the building blocks are revenue streams and time management. It’s essential that both are aligned for maximum profit in order to build a strong and profitable money house for your business. You need to know how you spend your time, and dive deeply into what money-making activities are working and – more importantly – not working in your business.

Finishing Touches: It’s time for the stuff that really makes a house feel like a home – crown molding, light fixtures, accessories. You need to make some targeted tweaks to your marketing, so you’re focused on profitable marketing, not just any old marketing. This will give you more time to grow your business and more profit out of the time that you do invest in your business. You can put the additional time and money to benefit yourself and your family too.